The Fame Monster
The Fame Monster (stylized as The Fame Mons†er) is the second studio album by American recording artist Lady GaGa, released on November 18, 2009. The album's eight songs were initially intended to be part of a re-release of Gaga's debut album The Fame'' . However, Gaga announced that the new songs would be available as a stand alone album, as she thought the re-release was too expensive and that, as the piece represents a separate conceptual and musical body of work, it does not need the songs of ''The Fame to support it. A Super Deluxe Fame Monster pack containing the two releases was released on December 15, 2009. The album deals with the darker side of fame, as experienced by Gaga over the course of 2008–2009 while travelling around the world, and are expressed through a monster metaphor. Gaga compared the feel of her debut album and The Fame Monster with the Yin and yang concept. Cover artwork was done by Hedi Slimane and has a gothic look which Gaga had to convince her record company to allow her to shoot. The composition takes its inspiration from Gothic music and fashion shows. Contemporary critics gave a positive review of the album, with the majority of them complimenting the songs "Bad Romance" and "Dance in the Dark". It has reached top ten in most of the major markets. "Bad Romance" was released as the album's first single. It topped the Canadian, United Kingdom and Irish charts while reaching the top ten in United States, Australia and Sweden. She announced The Monster Ball Tour supporting the album, which started on November 27, 2009 and will continue through June 2010. Background and Development In North America and the United Kingdom, The Fame Monster was released as an eight-track album on November 23, 2009. Gaga's website also confirmed a Deluxe Edition featuring the entirety of her first album, The Fame, as a bonus disc. Solely a deluxe edition had been previously planned, however, Gaga cited cost being an issue in deciding on the additional single disc release. During the collaborative launch of her similarly titled headphones with Dr. Dre, Gaga commented about the re-release: "I think re-releases are unfair, ... It’s artists sneaking singles onto an already finished piece of work in an effort to keep the album afloat. Originally label only wanted me to put out three songs and now it’s much more than that. It’s a new album’s worth of material." Regarding the title The Fame Monster, Gaga said that it was a coincidence that the name was similar to the headphones she launched. She had already written a song titled "Monster" in March, before she met with Dr. Dre and the Noel Lee, the CEO of Monster Cable Products, to discuss the collaboration. Gaga further explained that she was obsessed with monster movies then and "I’m kind of obsessing over the decay of the celebrity and the way that fame is a monster in society! That’s what my new record is about, so it was kind of a perfect fit." The first single from the re-issue was titled "Bad Romance". Gaga later revealed that the re-release will contain eight new songs, along with her whole original debut album. The Fame Monster deals with the seamier side of fame, as experienced by Gaga over the course of the year 2008–2009. She explains: "On my re-release The Fame Monster, I wrote about everything I didn't write on The Fame. While traveling the world for two years, I've encountered several monsters, each represented by a different song on the new record: my 'Fear of Sex Monster,' my 'Fear of Alcohol Monster,' my 'Fear of Love Monster,' my 'Fear of Death Monster,' my 'Fear of Loneliness Monster,' etc." "I spent a lot of nights in Eastern Europe, and this album is a pop experimentation with industrial/Goth beats, 90's dance melodies, an obsession with the lyrical genius of 80's melancholic pop, and the runway. I wrote while watching muted fashion shows and I am compelled to say my music was scored for them." Among other songs, Gaga confirmed a ballad titled "Speechless", which she dedicated to her father. She also commented that the new songs don't deal with money or fame, rather its about everything in-between and it was for her fans. Gaga compared the mood of The Fame to The Fame Monster as opposites and called them Yin and Yang respectively. According to her she felt a dichotomy within herself while developing the album. With MTV she explained that, "I am ready for the future, but I mourn the past, ... And it's a very real rite of passage—you have to let go of things. You have to mourn them like a death so that you can move on, and that's sort of what the album is about." Music Structure and Lyrics The Independent felt that the first song from the album, "Bad Romance" set the tone for the album, whose dominant atmosphere and aesthetic, from the monochrome cover shot and the crucifix logo onwards, is gothic. The line "I want your ugly; I want your disease..." in "Bad Romance" refers to Boney M and the music recalls Depeche Mode's fifth studio album Black Celebration (1986). The lyrics contain zombie metaphors in songs like "Monster" ("He ate my heart..."), the Cossack like music in "Teeth" ("Take a bite of my bad-girl meat...") and "Dance in the Dark" ("Silicone, saline, poison, inject me..."). The latter's lyrics also refer to famous people who met a tragic end; Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Sylvia Plath, Princess Diana, Liberace and JonBenét Ramsey. "Monster" consists of stuttering synths and instrumentation from heavy drums. "Speechless" is a 1970s rock-inspired number that touches upon abusive relationships in lyrics upon "I can't believe how you slurred at me with your half-wired broken jaw". It consists of vocal harmonies and guitar riffs, which according to PopMatters is comparable to the work of Freddie Mercury and Queen. The song was recorded with all live instruments like live drums, live guitars and bass with Gaga playing piano; The song was produced by Ron Fair. The album's fifth track, "Dance in the Dark", depicts a girl being uncomfortable when having sex. Speaking about the song, Gaga said, "She doesn’t want her man to see her naked. She will be free, and she will let her inner animal out, but only when the lights are out." In "So Happy I Could Die", Gaga presents an ode to sexual feeling and actions, stating, "I love that lavender blonde/ The way she moves the way she walks/ I touch myself, can't get enough." Essentially a love song, the object of affection in "So Happy" becomes Gaga herself as she talks looking, drinking, dancing and touching herself. Gaga's voice appears sedated in the song. The song also uses auto-tune in its music. "Alejandro" incorporates elements of the music of ABBA and Ace of Base with the lyrics talking about Gaga fending off a harem of Latino men. "Telephone" talks about the singer preferring the dance floor rather than answer her lover's call. The verses are sung in a rapid-fire way, accompanied by double beats. It deals with Gaga's fear of suffocation which she explained as "fear of never being able to enjoy myself. 'Cause I love my work so much, I find it really hard to go out and have a good time." The phone on the song is not just a physical phone, but also the voice of a person in her head telling her to keep working harder and harder. The last song "Teeth" contains gospel music and the lyrics are written in S&M style, telling that the closest she will get to another human being involves being tied up and bitten. Release and Art Work Originally, the album was intended to be a two-disc re-release of The Fame, but Gaga told MTV on November 12, 2009 that the album is to be a standalone piece. Gaga has also announced the release of The Fame Monster Deluxe Edition, and the Super Deluxe Fame Monster Pack, which was released on December 15, 2009. The pack will provide an assortment of products from Gaga's production collaborative Haus of Gaga and even included a lock of hair of the singer. Gaga explained this decision by saying, "In the midst of my creative journey composing The Fame Monster, there came an exciting revelation that this was in fact my sophomore album, ... I would not add, nor take away any songs from this EP. It is a complete conceptual and musical body of work that can stand on its own two feet. It doesn't need The Fame. For those who do not have my debut album, there are a series of collectible double-disc editions that include both albums and artwork conceived by the Haus of Gaga in collaboration with our mentor, Hedi Slimane," she said. "Hear the music, see the show, live and love yourself." Two cover arts for the re-release were shot by designer and photographer Hedi Slimane. One shows Gaga in blond wig and wearing a black jacket while the other is what she used to look like with heavy eyeliner running down her face. Regarding the cover arts Gaga said that when she sat down to create the concept for the album, she wanted to make sure the look was darker and edgier than anything she had done before. However, her record label found the brunette cover to be too confusing and gothic while believing it to be less pop. Gaga responded saying, "You don't know what pop is, because everyone was telling me I wasn't pop last year, and now look—so don't tell me what pop is, I know what pop is. ... It's funny, because I fought and fought and fought, and I actually ended up having two covers, because I wanted to do this yin and yang presentation with the covers. .... I don't want to do a really glamorous photo of me rubbing myself like every other blond girl. I want my fans to see this image and say, 'I feel just like she feels.'" Chart Performance In the United States, the individual disc of The Fame Monster charted at number five with sales of 174,000 while the double disc deluxe edition including the original The Fame charted at number six with sales of 151,000. The album also topped the Top Digital Albums chart with sales of 65,000. Seven of the eight songs from the album also charted on the Hot Digital Songs chart. The album also topped the Dance/Electronic Albums chart, replacing the original version of The Fame. In January 2010, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of 500,000 copies of the album. The Fame Monster has sold 637,000 copies in United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan. In Canada, the album debuted as a standalone album at position two. In Australia and New Zealand, The Fame Monster charted with the original album initially, but later as a stand-alone album. It charted into the top-ten of the albums chart. Similar was the charting of the album in Denmark, Ireland and Germany, the album reaching the top in the last two territories. The album charted on its own at the Japanese Oricon albums chart at seven. In the United Kingdom, The Fame Monster was released as a deluxe edition only with The Fame, and not as a stand-alone album, meaning it charted under The Fame. It charted at number seven, a jump of forty-eight places from the previous week's position of fifty-five. On January 3, 2010, the album climbed to number two in the album chart. All of the new tracks from The Fame Monster charted within the top 110 singles there, with the most popular un-released track, "Telephone", charting inside the top-forty at number thirty. The album has reached thirteen on the European Top 100 Albums chart. It was certified platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for shipment of a million copies across Europe. Singles Dance in the Dark-is one of the two promotional singles, along with Alejandro, from The Fame Monster. Bad Romance-was confirmed as the first single from the album. A brief portion of the song was performed on Saturday Night Live on October 3, 2009, along with other songs like "Poker Face" and "LoveGame" "Bad Romance" premiered during the show finale of fashion designer Alexander McQueen's Spring/Summer 2010 Paris Fashion Week show on October 6, 2009. It was released for digital download on October 27, 2009. The song topped the Canadian Hot 100, UK Singles Chart, German Singles Chart and the Irish, French, Austrian, Finnish, Swedish and Danish charts as well as becoming a top three hit single in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Telephone-will be the album's second single. The song features American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles. It has yet to be performed live, but the music video is currently in post-production, with Gaga confirming that it will be a continuation of the "Paparazzi" music video. The video's release date, however, has not been announced. "Telephone" has been appreciated by critics as being a standout track from The Fame Monster, and even before officially being released as a single, it has so far reached a peak of sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100. Alejandro-was originally a promotion single. It is thought to be the third single from the album. GaGa has held casting calls for the music video in January 2010. Speechless-is not an offical single, but it has been performed in most of GaGa's performances since the release of The Fame Monster. Track Listing The official track listing for The Fame Monster was announced via Universal Music Japan on October 14, 2009. Standard Edition